The morning sun bathed the Celestial Academy in a golden light that made its white marble towers shine as if they were made of solidified stars. Two hundred eighteen-year-old students stood arranged in perfect rows in the Great Summoning Plaza, their navy-blue uniforms immaculate, their faces a mix of nervousness and barely contained excitement.
Today was the day that would define the rest of their lives.
Alex Carter wiped his sweaty palms on his pants for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. From his position in the back row—always the back, always the last, always invisible—he observed the enormous summoning circle engraved in the plaza's floor. The design was a masterpiece of interwoven runes that glowed with silver light, geometric patterns so complex it hurt to look directly at them for too long.
"Nervous, Carter?"
Alex turned his head. Beside him, a stocky boy named Derek looked at him with a mocking smile. It wasn't real malice—Derek wasn't creative enough to be cruel—just the kind of casual condescension Alex had learned to ignore for three years.
"A little," Alex admitted, forcing a smile.
"I bet you'll summon something pathetic. Maybe a rat. Or better yet, a cockroach!" Derek laughed at his own joke, giving him a friendly elbow that nearly made him stumble.
Alex didn't respond. He let his gaze wander to the front of the rows, where the elite students waited. Even from behind, it was impossible not to recognize them. Marcus Steele, son of the most powerful Master Guild leader on the continent, stood with the posture of someone who had never known doubt. His platinum blond hair was combed back with military precision, and every inch of him screamed confidence.
Two rows ahead, Emily Chen moved her brown hair behind her ear—a gesture Alex had memorized during countless shared classes. She had never really noticed him—why would she? He was the orphan on scholarship, the one working double shifts at the library to pay tuition, the one always a step behind everyone else.
But today... today everything could change.
"ATTENTION!" Director Magnus's voice resonated across the plaza, magically amplified so that every syllable vibrated in the students' chests.
The murmur of two hundred conversations cut off instantly.
Director Magnus was an imposing man even at seventy. His white beard fell to mid-chest, and his eyes—one blue, one gold, the result of an ancient summoning contract—scanned the students with the intensity of a predator evaluating a herd.
"Students of Generation 427," he began, his deep voice charged with solemnity. "For eighteen years you have walked this world as mere humans. Today, you will awaken. Today, the universe will answer the call of your souls and send you a companion, a guardian, an eternal bond that will accompany you until your last breath."
Alex felt a shiver run down his spine. He had heard these speeches dozens of times in recordings, had read every book in the library about the Summoning Ceremony, but hearing it in person, knowing that in minutes it would be his turn...
"The rank of your companion will determine your destiny," Magnus continued, pacing in front of the summoning circle like a general before battle. "S-Rank—the gods among mortals. A-Rank—legendary heroes. B-Rank—distinguished warriors. C-Rank—capable fighters. D-Rank—common soldiers. And E-Rank..."
Magnus paused deliberately.
"E-Rank, those who did not meet minimum expectations, will be reassigned to support duties. This academy has no place for mediocrity."
Alex swallowed. No one mentioned F-Rank. Because technically, F-Rank didn't exist. It was a system error, an anomaly so rare that historical records showed fewer than twenty cases in the last thousand years. And all of them... all had ended in tragedy.
"We will begin with the Honor students!" Magnus declared, and enthusiastic applause erupted.
Of course. They always started with the elite. The spectacle before the real business.
Marcus Steele was the first to walk toward the circle. His stride was calm, almost bored, as if this were just another Tuesday. He stopped at the exact center of the summoning circle, and the runes immediately came to life, glowing with blinding intensity.
"Marcus Steele!" Magnus announced. "Summon!"
Marcus raised his right hand to the sky. He didn't shout, didn't make any dramatic gesture—he simply closed his eyes, and the world responded.
The air tore.
There's no other way to describe it. The space above the circle literally split like fabric being ripped apart, and from that wound in reality emerged... pure majesty.
A roar shook the plaza. A roar that wasn't sound but PRESENCE—something so ancient and powerful that it made every student involuntarily step back. Everyone except Marcus, who simply smiled.
The dragon that materialized was a creature of legend made flesh. Golden scales that reflected the sun like thousands of mirrors, each the size of a shield. Wings that extended enough to shade half the plaza. Eyes like molten suns that observed the world with primordial intelligence.
[DING!]
A holographic panel appeared above the dragon, visible to everyone:
[SOUL COMPANION SUMMONED]
Name: To be determined
Species: Solar Golden Dragon
Rank: S
Level: 1
Affinity: Celestial Fire, Divine Light
Skills: [Solar Breath], [Indestructible Scales], [Supreme Flight], [King's Roar]
The silence lasted exactly three seconds before the plaza exploded into applause and shouts of amazement.
"S-RANK!"
"Of course Marcus would get an S!"
"It's a fucking golden dragon! There are only seven in the entire recorded world!"
Marcus stroked the creature's snout with familiarity, as if they had been friends for years instead of seconds. The dragon purred—something Alex didn't know dragons could do—and wrapped its tail around its summoner in a protective gesture.
"Extraordinary," Magnus said, though his tone suggested he had expected exactly this. "Congratulations, Mr. Steele. A bond worthy of your lineage."
One by one, the elite students were called. Sophia Blackwood summoned a Crimson Phoenix—A-Rank, regeneration and eternal fire abilities. James Park materialized an Obsidian Behemoth—A-Rank, absolute defense. Catherine Moore received an Ancient Wind Spirit—B-Rank, but with exceptional growth potential.
Alex watched, memorizing every detail, every system reaction. His heart beat faster with each successful summoning. They were all incredible. All powerful.
He just needed one. Just one decent companion. C-Rank would be fine. Hell, D-Rank and he could live with that. He just needed something that would allow him to stay at the academy, finish his education, build a life that wasn't serving tables or cleaning streets.
"Emily Chen, step forward."
Alex tensed. He watched her walk toward the circle with that natural grace that made everything look easy. Her summoning was quick—an explosion of iridescent light, and a Lunar Unicorn appeared, its white fur shining with constellations that moved across its body like living tattoos.
[Rank: B]
Respectable. Very respectable. Emily smiled, clearly pleased, and stroked the unicorn's mane. Alex felt something twist in his chest—not quite envy, but something close.
Minutes turned into hours. Or at least that's how it felt. The ceremony continued, student after student. Some received C-Ranks with nervous smiles. Others got D-Ranks and tried to hide their disappointment. Three students summoned E-Rank companions—a common wolf, a hawk with no special abilities, a basic venomous snake—and were discreetly escorted aside by instructors with compassionate expressions.
Eventually, inevitably, only one remained.
"Alex Carter."
The name sounded like a sentence in the now half-empty plaza. Most of the elite students had already retired to celebrate with their families. Only the mid and low ranks remained, the mandatory instructors, and a few onlookers.
Alex walked toward the circle. Each step seemed to take an eternity. He could feel eyes on him—some curious, most indifferent, a few—was it his imagination?—full of pity.
The summoning circle felt larger when you were alone in it. The runes seemed to move beneath his feet, slithering like silver light snakes.
"Alex Carter," Magnus repeated, his voice neutral. "Proceed."
Alex closed his eyes. Breathed deeply.
Please, he begged the universe, the gods, anyone who was listening. Just give me a chance. Just one.
He raised his hand, imitating what he had seen hundreds do before him. He reached... inward. Toward that place in his chest where something had been waiting all his life—something that whispered in his dreams, something that felt like formless potential.
The circle reacted.
But not like with the others.
The runes didn't glow with glorious light. Instead, they darkened. They dimmed to an ashen gray, and then to something deeper—not quite black, but the absence of color, like staring into a void.
A cold spread from the circle. Not a physical cold, but something deeper. The kind of cold that touches the soul.
"What..." Magnus frowned, stepping forward.
The space above Alex cracked—but it didn't tear like with Marcus's dragon. It rotted. Like a corpse decomposing at accelerated speed, reality fragmented into dark pieces that smelled faintly of graveyard earth.
And from that rot emerged...
A figure.
Small.
So small.
It barely reached Alex's chest. A skeletal form wrapped in a tattered robe that might have been black once but was now a faded gray. Tiny bones, no larger than a child's. And in its bony hands, a scythe.
Except the scythe was the size of a toy. Cheap costume shop plastic. It even had a crack in the handle.
The silence in the plaza was so complete Alex could hear his own heart breaking.
[DING!]
The system panel appeared, but it flickered, as if having trouble loading:
[SOUL COMPANION SUMMONED]
Name: ???
Species: ???
Rank: F
Level: ???
Affinity: ???
Skills: [DATA CORRUPTED]
F.
F-Rank.
The rank that shouldn't exist.
For exactly five seconds, no one said anything. Alex stared at the small skeletal figure, which stood there motionless, its skull tilted to one side like a confused dog.
Then someone laughed.
It was a choked laugh, probably involuntary. But it was like breaking a dam.
Another laugh. And another. And suddenly the whole plaza was laughing.
"What the FUCK is that?"
"A skeleton? It's the size of a child!"
"Look at that scythe! Looks like she bought it at a dollar store!"
"F-Rank... I didn't even know that was possible..."
"Poor Carter. Must have done something terrible in a past life."
The laughter mixed with murmurs of pity and mockery. Alex stood frozen, his hand still extended, his mind refusing to process what he was seeing.
This couldn't be happening.
Three years of work. Three years of double shifts, of sleeping four hours a night, of studying until words blurred on the pages. All for this moment. All for a chance to be something more than garbage.
And the universe had given him... this.
"Silence," Magnus ordered, but his voice lacked conviction. He too stared at the small skeleton with something close to horror. "Mr. Carter, I... this is..."
The skeletal figure turned its skull toward Alex. Empty eye sockets that should be dead, lifeless, meaningless.
But for a moment—a single, brief moment that no one else seemed to notice—
The empty sockets lit up.
Blood red.
Brilliant crimson, like ignited rubies, like the light filtering through eyelids when you look at the sun.
And in that moment, Alex heard a voice.
Not with his ears. Deeper. Somewhere behind his thoughts, in the space where dreams and waking met.
A single word, whispered like the last breath of a dying man:
*"Master." *
The red lights vanished as quickly as they appeared. The skeleton was again just a pathetic pile of bones with a toy scythe.
Alex blinked. Had he imagined it?
"Mr. Carter," Magnus said, and now there was something definitive in his tone. Something final. "Please, report to my office after the ceremony. We have... matters to discuss."
The murmurs intensified. Everyone knew what that meant.
Alex nodded mechanically. He left the summoning circle in a daze. The small skeleton followed, its bones clicking softly against the stones, dragging its toy scythe behind it like a tired child.
As he passed a group of students, he heard their whispers:
"They'll probably expel him."
"Who would want an F-Rank skeleton?"
"It's even sadder than the E-Ranks..."
Alex didn't look at them. He couldn't. If he did, if he saw the pity on their faces, something inside him would break permanently.
He found a bench at the edge of the plaza and collapsed onto it. The skeleton stood before him, motionless, waiting.
Alex studied it properly for the first time. Thin bones, probably fragile. The robe was literally falling apart, full of moth holes. The toy scythe had a barely visible price tag stuck to the handle: $2.99.
"What are you supposed to be?" Alex whispered, more to himself than to the creature.
The skeleton didn't respond. Of course it didn't. It was just a pile of animated bones. F-Rank probably didn't even have real intelligence.
Around the plaza, other students celebrated with their companions. He saw Marcus laughing as his golden dragon performed aerial somersaults. Emily brushed her unicorn's mane with a radiant smile. Even the D-Rank summoners seemed reasonably happy.
And Alex had... this.
The sun began to set, painting the sky orange and purple. The ceremony had officially ended. Students began to disperse, heading to dormitories or celebration halls.
Alex remained seated.
The skeleton remained standing.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard bursts of laughter. Music began to play from the halls—some rich student throwing a summoning party. Probably Marcus.
"I guess I should give you a name," Alex murmured finally, his voice hollow. "Though I don't know how much longer I'll have you."
The skeleton tilted its skull. Perhaps curiosity. Perhaps just random movement of brainless bones.
Alex thought of all the grand names he had imagined for his future companion. Names like Tempest, or Ragnarok, or Excalibur. Names that inspired terror and respect.
He looked at the toy scythe.
"Grim," he said finally. "I'll call you Grim. Short for Grim Reaper, I guess. Though you..." he laughed without humor, "you're anything but death personified."
The skeleton—Grim—didn't react. Just kept staring at him with empty sockets.
Except...
Was it his imagination, or had those sockets become slightly darker? As if the shadows within them had deepened?
Alex shook his head. Probably just the evening light playing tricks on his eyes.
He stood, his legs numb from sitting too long. "Come on, Grim. I have to go to Director Magnus's office. Probably to sign my expulsion papers."
He began walking through the now-empty plaza, his footsteps echoing on the stone. Grim followed, its bones making rhythmic clicks, its toy scythe scraping the ground.
Click. Click. Click. Scrape. Scrape.
The sound would haunt Alex in his dreams for years.
In the Director's office, the news would be worse than he imagined.
But for now, in this final moment before his world completely crumbled, Alex looked back at his companion.
Grim followed him—a loyal pile of bones with a toy scythe.
And in the depths of those empty eye sockets, where no one else could see, where even Alex wasn't sure it was real—
A pair of red lights flickered.
Just once.
Like a heartbeat.
Like a promise.
Like the prelude to something the world wasn't yet ready to know.